Australia needs stronger prudential regulations, warns IMF
[SYDNEY] The International Monetary Fund has warned Australia may need to tighten rules on home loan lending and ensure banks have more capital to strengthen resilience against economic shocks, The Australian Financial Review reported on Saturday.
IMF deputy managing director Tao Zhang told the paper Australia's housing-market vulnerabilities and its dependence on trade made it susceptible to global risk, including protectionist policies touted by US President-elect Donald Trump.
"We're talking about prudential policies needing to be intensified, with targeted macroprudential measures and banks being encouraged to robustly increase their capital position," Mr Zhang said.
Concerns that parts of the Australian housing market are oversupplied, particularly in the apartment sector, have recently made some banks more cautious about lending to developers and buyers.
Approvals for new Australian homes had a shock tumble of 12.6 per cent in October from a month earlier, confounding forecasts of a 1.5 per cent rise and marking the biggest drop since mid-2012.
Mr Zhang said high house prices and accompanying household debt could amplify economic shocks, including shocks from overseas.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Property
US 30-year mortgage rate rises to five-month high of 7.24%
Money laundering accused Su Baolin’s Sentosa property goes unsold at auction
US Judge approves US$418 million settlement that will change real estate commissions
In San Francisco, a home renovation can become a battle royale
Country Garden extends bonds to avoid first local default
Daughter of Chinese steel-and-nickel tycoon picks up S$84 million Bin Tong Park bungalow